One Sweet Day
by Claire Chase
Summary: When things in the world finally seem to be going right, they turn horribly wrong and will affect House’s team immensely. Sequel to New Tricks. Slight language, but in proper House context. COMPLETE!
1. Fall To Pieces

When things in the world finally seem to be going right, they turn horribly wrong and will affect House's team immensely. Sequel to _New Tricks_.

_Disclaimer: I do not own House, MD. If I did, do you think that Tritter would be around, Cameron and Chase would have had that interesting moment, that Claire would be made up, or that I would be writing here? And I do not own any of the song titles used in this story as a title or chapter titles._

Alright everyone! Here's the sequel! Hope you like it! Yes, I know I'm not on break yet, but amazingly, with finals at my school, not much studying is required and no homework is given! So, I've got some free time for writing! And the title is based off of the Boyz II Men & Mariah Carey song, which is a very big favorite of mine! Most of the chapter titles will probably be some romantic song title, or a song that fits the chapter.

**One Sweet Day**

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**Chapter 1 – Fall To Pieces**

_Setting: Claire's room, as she, very flustered, gets ready for work._

Claire rushed into her room. She had just gotten out of the bathroom, putting her clothing on and taking a shower. She went over to her vanity she had had since she was a teenager and quickly brushed some makeup on. She grabbed her cell phone, threw it in her bag, picked up her bag, and rushed out, while fumbling to get her keys out. Claire left the apartment, went into the elevator, left the building, and got into her car, started it, and pulled out of the driveway.

**In House's office…**

Foreman, Cameron, and House sat around, doing pretty much nothing.

"What's taking Chase?" Foreman asked, slightly annoyed.

"You don't know?" Cameron asked him, a bit shocked.

"Know what?"

"Ah, leave him in the dark. If he's not going to pay attention, he should be," House said absent mindedly.

"Once again, know what?"

"Chase and Claire had their first date last night," Cameron told him.

"Really?"

"Explains why he's late." Chase came in quickly, seeming a little out of it.

"And so the brave one returns!" House commented.

"How'd it go?" Cameron asked.

"An explanation as to why you're late?" Foreman asked sarcastically.

"Why does everyone suddenly care about our personal lives?" Chase asked, slightly annoyed.

"Because we have the right to pry it out of you, or torture you until you do say it," House remarked.

"So?" Cameron asked. Chase sighed.

"It went fine and that's all I'm telling you."

"Why are you late?" Chase sighed again.

"Alarm clock didn't go off, and I woke up late."

"A likely story," House said.

"Come off it, will you?"

"Testy."

**With Claire…**

Claire drove through the city quickly. She was anticipating the wonderful phone call she would receive from House, or the awesome round of teasing that would occur when she got to work. Claire honestly thought that she kept hitting every red light physically possibly. She stopped at yet another stop light and waited for it to turn green. As she waited, she thought about the night before. It had been wonderful. She and Chase had really clicked. Claire was glad she had said yes. The light turned green. Claire began to pull out…

**A few hours later (mid-morning), still in House's office…**

"Wonder what's taking her so long," Foreman remarked, reading a medical magazine.

"Chase, what'd you do to Claire?" House asked sarcastically.

"Hey, don't look at me. I'm just as clueless as you." The phone rang. House got up and answered it.

"The number you have reached has been disconnected or is no longer in use. Please hang up and try again."

"Funny House," Cuddy said on the other end of the line. "Get down to the ER right now."

"Gee, seeing as how none of us work in the ER, I really don't see a point."

"Just get down there."

"Why?"

"I'm not telling you, so just get down there!" Cuddy hung up.

"Somebody's awfully pissy today," House said, putting the phone down. "And it's off to the ER we go!"

**Near the ER…**

"And if it isn't the one who dragged us away from our activities," House remarked as he saw Cuddy. "Why did you call us down here?"

"Follow me," Cuddy said in a slightly worried tone. The four followed her. Chase's mind turned to the night before, really not caring about where Cuddy was taking them. Claire had looked so beautiful. The two had great, in-depth conversations. Chase was almost hoping that they would get to go out for dinner again. This was one he thought would work out. Cuddy was rambling on, and frequently being asked questions by the rest of the team, who were very confused, but Chase wasn't listening. Finally, he tuned back in.

"Cuddy, quit with the riddles and tell us what's going on!" Cameron demanded. Cuddy let out a frustrated sigh.

"Our ambulances were called to a car accident," Cuddy began.

"Very good start, but I'm afraid that the plot's been used before," House commented. Cuddy ignored him.

"When they got the drivers out of the cars…" she continued.

"Can you get to the point?" Foreman asked. She paused.

"Claire's been in a car accident." It took a minute for the reality to hit home.

"Oh my god," Cameron said, shocked.

"Where is she?" Chase asked, his heart sinking.

"She's in there," Cuddy said, pointing to the room nearby. Chase began to go towards the door, but Cuddy stopped him. "You can't go in yet."

"Why not?" Chase asked angrily.

"She's still barely here. The EMT's are still working on her. Why don't you just go back up to Diagnostics and we'll let you know when you can see her." The rest of the team slowly headed for the elevator, but Chase ran his hands through his hair and looked at the room.

"Chase," Foreman said, signaling for him to follow. Reluctantly, Chase followed.

**In House's office…**

House's team sat in the office, stunned by what happened. Foreman was still shocked. Cameron wanted answers. Chase, on the other hand, blamed himself. They had gone out the night before. He felt like it was his fault that Claire was now lying in the ER, near death. More than anything, he wanted to see her. House just thought. He wasn't sure what to do. Wilson came in.

"I heard what happened," he said as he walked in. "Is she okay?"

"Don't know," House replied, his voice losing all it's sarcasm. Wilson sat down.

A bit later, everyone but Chase had gone and gotten food.

"Chase, you should really eat something," Cameron told him.

"Not hungry," he replied for the tenth time. Foreman came in and sat a sandwich, chips, and a brownie in front of Chase.

"When you get hungry…" he told him.

**A few hours later…**

Cuddy came into the office, where Chase, House, Cameron, Foreman, and Wilson all sat, anxiously waiting.

"You can see her," she said to them. Chase was the first one up, following Cuddy.

"Where is she?" he asked her.

"ICU," Cuddy answered, leading them to Claire's room. "She's pretty beat up and she's out for now."

"What happened?" Cameron asked as they walked.

"She was driving here. Light turned green, she went like she was supposed to, and a drunk driver barreled through and hit her car."

"Oh god," Cameron said under her breath.

"How's the drunk?" Wilson asked, sounding like he could care less. Even though she had only been there close to a week, everyone, even House, already liked the sweet, caring girl.

"In better shape than Claire." She paused. "This is her room." Chase was the first one in. Everyone else stayed out, allowing him time to be with her.

**In the ICU room…**

Claire lay on the bed, completely knocked out. Cuddy wasn't wrong when she said the Claire was pretty beat up.

"Oh god," Chase said as he walked towards her. Once he got closer, he pulled a chair next to the bed. Chase took her hand. He lowered his head. All day, he had kept from breaking down and crying, but now, he couldn't help it. She looked so helpless. Anyone who knew Claire knew that wasn't her. Chase, unable to think of anything else, began to pray quietly.

**Outside the room…**

"How will she do?" Cameron asked, concerned.

"We aren't sure right now," Cuddy answered. "I need you guys to treat the drunk."

"What?" Foreman asked, finding this unbelievable.

"Are you kidding?" Cameron added.

"We have reason to believe he has some obscure disease, which is where you guys specialize."

"You want us to treat the guy who nearly killed one of my doctors?"

"Sorry that we don't have two Diagnostic teams! But, if you'll just treat him and get him out of here, then we can go ahead and go to get him put in jail."

In the middle of Cuddy's small speech, Cameron looked through the window to the room. She went in. After a few minutes, House gave in.

"Alright, I'll treat the damn guy just so that we can him put in jail."

"Good. He's in that room." She pointed to the room across the hall.

**With Chase & Cameron…**

Cameron walked in the room.

"It'll be okay," she comforted, "She'll be better in no time and be back up and around, teasing and being teased by House."

"Thanks for trying, but it's not really going to help." Chase looked up, and continued holding her hand. Cameron sat down in a chair near him.

**With House, Wilson, and Foreman…**

They went into the drunk's room.

"So, you're the man that almost killed one of my doctors?" House asked rudely.

"Heard that my doctor was an ass, just didn't believe it," the man shot back.

"Well then, it's nice to meet you, the drunk ass. I'm the Vicodin addicted ass."

"We're taking some blood and running some tests," Foreman said bluntly. Normally, he would at least hold some form of kindness to a patient, but this guy didn't deserve it. He jabbed the needle into the guy's arm and took some blood.

**With Chase & Cameron…**

For a while, there was only the sound of the monitors.

"I'm going to go get your sandwich and stuff," she said to him, "eventually, you'll have to eat."

Chase sat in silence as Cameron left. She came back with the food Foreman had brought him and his bag. She left again. Chase got an idea and looked through his bag. He pulled out a book and began flipping through. The night before, he and Claire had talked about religion, favorite bible verses, and things like that. He stopped at the page where Claire's favorite verse was. He began to read softly out loud, from around her favorite verse.

_Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)_

He skipped down a bit to her favorite verse.

_And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)_

"Pretty good verse, Claire," he said, his voice returning to normal, as if she could hear him. "I hope that it's right." Chase began to read through the bible a bit more. Even though Claire was completely out of it, Chase felt that they were deeper connected this way. House watched from the window.

_And I don't want to fall to pieces_

_I just want to sit and stare at you_

_I don't want to talk about it_

_I don't want a conversation_

_I just want to cry in front of you_

_I don't want to talk about it_

'_Cause I'm in love with you_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Okay, so I hope that kept you all very in to it. I feel that it's a good time for a bit of Chase's seminary training to come through. I put the song lyrics at the end because I feel that it fits the chapter very well and I'll probably do that at the end of each chapter. Please review, House will proceed to call flames a series of names until they cry.


	2. Bad Day

When things in the world finally seem to be going right, they turn horribly wrong and will affect House's team immensely. Sequel to _New Tricks_.

_Disclaimer: I do not own House, MD. If I did, do you think that Tritter would be around, Cameron and Chase would have had that interesting moment, that Claire would be made up, or that I would be writing here? And I do not own any of the song titles used in this story as a title or chapter titles._

Okay, so it's a snow day and I intend to keep writing. I got a review on _New Tricks_ asking why Claire gets to go by Claire instead of Austen. Well…part of the overall plot plays into this…but…well, personally I prefer it that way, but it could also have something to do with the fact that when I originally started watching the show this past summer, I thought that their first names were Chase, Cameron, and Foreman. Eventually, I'll remember why I didn't call her Austen and the plot will play out to where it makes sense…hopefully. In this chapter: OMG! House's almost non-existent heart shines through!

**Warning! **– Mild language (some abbreviated), but in proper context.

Review Answer!

Merlin71 – I'm very glad you like it! That was definitely my intent with the scripture. Well, the drunk won't bite it…yet. He's got to face some more of House first…if he dies. We shall see…and it's not evil of you. Secretly, anyone who has read _New Tricks_ and likes Claire probably feels the same. I do! I honestly believe he deserves to die, but I'm not letting if affect my House writing skills. If he would die in House, he may die in here.

**One Sweet Day**

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**Chapter 2 – Bad Day**

_Setting: Same day as 1st Chapter. It's about time that the team would be leaving. Foreman and Cameron go to check on Chase. Everyone is worried about him, especially how he's taking this._

Cameron and Foreman went into the ICU room. Chase was still sitting there. He had eventually eaten a little, but not much.

"Hey, it's about time to go home," Foreman said, somewhat suggesting.

"I'm not going," Chase replied, his eyes never leaving Claire.

"Chase…" Cameron started, but was cut off.

"I'm not leaving her."

"You're going to need some sleep, man."

"We're doctors. We know better than anyone else how quickly you can go from being stable to…dead." Cameron and Foreman looked at each other.

"Well, just try to get some sleep," Cameron told him. The two left the room.

**With House, in his office…**

House picked up the results of the tests they ran on the drunk, whose name was John.

"Figures," he muttered, dropping the results on the table. Wilson walked in.

"What's wrong with your drunk?"

"His liver is failing."

"No, really?"

"Apparently, this guy got drunk more than once. There's no obscure disease, unless getting drunk is considered one."

"Well, looks like you've got good proof for when the trial rolls around." House got up. "Going home?"

"Going to give ole' John his test results."

"Are you serious?"

"Yep." And with that, House left.

**In John's (a.k.a. the drunk) room…**

House hobbled in.

"So, how often do you drink? Maybe, five times a day?"

"About once a week. I'm not a drunk."

"Well, your test results say other wise. Your liver is failing. You want to tell me about your drinking problem?"

"I had a drinking problem. I went to AA, and pretty much quit."

"Except for that drink last night or early this morning, but you can't be expected to be perfect."

"I would have a drink every once in a while. Sometimes when I would get really depressed, like last night."

"Why last night?"

"Girlfriend broke up with me, couldn't sleep."

"Well, any who, you need a new liver. We're going to need some more blood to check for a donor match."

**A bit later, in Cuddy's office…**

House walked in, looking rather confident.

"Nice obscure disease. Liver failure isn't all too common."

"He can't just have liver failure!"

"Yet he does. Hook him up with a donor and he'll be in jail in a month or two."

"He's had insomnia lately…"

"Medically irrelevant. Just get him the new liver."

"How bad is his liver trashed?"

"Like the frat house after that great party the night before." House handed her the results of the blood type. "Find him a new liver." Cuddy began to type into the donor database. The list came up.

"Oh god," Cuddy remarked.

"You've got to be kidding," House added. They stared in silence at the computer.

"Find him another liver."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"It's the only one that he can get within the next twenty-four hours!"

"First, you need their permission, which is kind of hard to get right now. Second, whoever is the medical proxy right now won't agree to it!"

"Well, either you let him die or you find a way to get that liver so he can go to jail!"

"Let the damn drunk die!"

"Not until we can get a definite answer!"

"If he's the proxy, his answer's going to be no way in hell!"

"Well, just ask Chase! Even though the idiot just about killed Claire, she's his only hope right now!"

House stormed out of the room.

**In Claire's ICU room…**

Cuddy came into the room and walked over to Chase.

"There's a matter we need to discuss."

"What?"

"The man whose car hit Claire's needs a new liver."

"What's your point?"

"Claire's at the top of the list of matches."

"Is this some cruel joke?"

"If you're her medical proxy, we need your permission for the surgery."

"First, I'm not her proxy. Second, if I was, why would I say yes? Just so that the guy who almost killed her could go get drunk again and kill somebody else?"

"Do you know who her proxy-"

"Are you even thinking this through?! You want him to live when Claire's barely alive?!"

"If we can get him better, he can be sent to jail and do the time for his crime."

"Why send that S.O.B. to jail when he can just die?!" Chase paused for a moment, then abandoned his current post of fighting and looked at Claire. "I'm not her proxy, so it doesn't matter." Cuddy left the room.

**In John's ICU room, with House…**

"Well, it's like you just won the lottery!" John looked at House, confused. "Turns out the woman that you almost killed is the best match for your liver donation."

"Am I getting the liver or not?" John asked, seeming not to care about what House had said.

"Well, if I was her proxy, I would say no, which is probably what her boyfriend will say."

"Why not?"

"Uh, maybe it's the fact you almost killed her!"

"So what?" House stared at the man, who was being an even bigger ass than he could ever be. Then, he got an idea. House began to put John in a wheelchair.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"We're going on a little field trip. Keep all hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times." House began to wheel him down the hallway, towards Claire's room.

_You tell me your life's been way off line_

_You fall into pieces every time_

_And I don't need no carrying on_

_You had a bad day_

_You're taking one down_

_You sing a sad song just to turn it around_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I'm going to leave it there. Let your imaginations run wild! I chose this song because, for Chase, this day just seems to keep getting worse. Please review, House will proceed to call flames a series of names until they cry. May put more scripture in future chapters.


	3. Solla Sollew

When things in the world finally seem to be going right, they turn horribly wrong and will affect House's team immensely. Sequel to _New Tricks_.

_Disclaimer: I do not own House, MD. If I did, do you think that Tritter would be around, Cameron and Chase would have had that interesting moment, that Claire would be made up, or that I would be writing here? And I do not own any of the song titles used in this story as a title or chapter titles._

Review Answer! Thanks for the reviews!

Merlin71 – Yeah, House and John are complete opposites, and I enjoy having them fight. I was hoping that everyone would like that plot. Actually, as I was writing it, I thought of that plot twist. There really isn't anything too big medical wise in here, so I figured I needed a medical distraction/case, so I decided to use some info I learned yesterday.

**One Sweet Day**

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**Chapter 3 – Solla Sollew**

_Setting: In the hallway, with House, who is pushing John in a wheelchair, on their "field trip"._

"Take me back to my room! Let me go!" John protested against House, who just continued pushing the wheelchair down the hallway.

"Just shut up. Everyone loves field trips."

"Not me!"

"Put a sock in it before I shove a tube down your throat (intubate!)."

John shut up. They continued down the hallway.

"Where are we going?" John asked, annoyed.

"Here," House stated, parking the wheelchair outside the room where Chase and Claire were.

"Wow, great field trip," John commented after a few minutes, "Maybe tomorrow you can take me to look at another sick person."

"This is the woman you hit, and her boyfriend. When you decided to be an idiot and go get more alcohol, you destroyed two lives, not one."

John started to say something, but House mimed putting a tube down his throat, which shut him up pretty quickly.

"Just watch," House ordered him. They stood…or sat, watching Chase with Claire.

"Has…has she woke up at all?" John asked, a hint of some humanity coming through.

"No," House answered rudely, "You got lucky. You were barely hurt. She got it worse." There was silence. House started to push the wheelchair down to his room.

"Wait-what the…?!" John said as House began to push the chair.

"Field trip's over. Time to go home."

House got John back to his room, and left him to get in his bed by himself. He went back to his office. He didn't intend on leaving tonight. If it was just that Claire was in the hospital, he wouldn't have really cared. But, if Claire died, he'd lose an intensivist and his other intensivist would be really depressed and upset. He needed at least one. Cuddy came into the room.

"We were able to get another liver from a different hospital. He'll be in surgery at 6 tomorrow morning."

"How'd he get so lucky?" Cuddy sighed.

"After a wonderful confrontation with Chase, her proxy is unknown right now, so there was no way we could use Claire's."

**Around 1 A.M., in Claire's ICU room…**

Chase had fallen asleep about an hour ago. His head rested on his crossed arms, on the edge of Claire's bed. His bible sat to the right of him. He had been reading scripture when he fell asleep. The steady sounds of the monitors had helped lull him to sleep. The nurses hadn't came in for a while…in fact, all night. House had fallen asleep across the hallway from the room, on a bench. Chase felt something or someone brushing a piece of hair away from his face. It had fallen into his eyes when he fell asleep. Chase opened his eyes and looked up.

"Claire!" he exclaimed, an elated feeling rushing through him.

"Hey," Claire said, laughing a little. "What the heck-?" she asked as she realized where the heck they were. She began to sit up. Chase jumped up.

"Take it easy," he advised her. Chase propped her pillow up then helped her lay back against it. "Do you remember what happened?" She shook her head.

"Will it explain why we're in a hospital room, I'm hooked up to an IV and monitors, and why everything seems to hurt?" she asked with a hint of sarcasm. Chase smirked.

"Yeah." He pulled the chair so that he could look at her. He sat down. "You were in a car crash."

"Ah…did I…?"

"No. The man who hit you is…doing well, to say the least." There was silence. Claire focused on something in a chair across the room.

"What's that?"

"I don't know," Chase said, noticing this messenger bag for the first time. He went over and picked it up. There was a small note on the top. Chase read it out loud.

_Found this in her car._

_Thought she might want it._

_Hope she does well._

_Police Department_

He brought the bag over to her.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

Claire began to go through her bag. She smiled when she reached something. Chase looked at her with some curiosity. Claire pulled out the item. It was a CD player with small speakers hooked up to it. She looked to see what CD was in it.

"What is it?"

Claire looked down, slightly embarrassed.

"I promise I won't laugh," Chase reassured her, hoping to find out.

"A CD from a musical I was in a few years ago."

"You were in a musical?"

"Community Musical. My family was in the community productions since I was a little girl."

"What was it?"

Claire looked a little embarrassed.

"Seussical," she answered very quietly. Chase looked at her. "It's based on the works of Dr. Seuss."

"Oh."

"I…guess I sort of fell in love with the music." Chase thought for a moment.

"Could you play some?" Claire looked at him.

"Really?"

"Yeah." Chase wanted to know more about her life before being a doctor, especially the musical aspect.

"Sure," she said, thinking of what song to play.

"Here's a good one," Claire continued after a minute. She started the song. Chase had to admit, it wasn't that bad…at least, compared to the other musicals he had heard or seen. At least there was some humor to it. After about a minute, Claire began to softly sing along with the part she had played.

_They say breezes are warm there_

_And people are kind_

_Maybe it's something like heaven_

_I close my eyes and I see in my mind_

_Skies of bluest blue_

_Solla Sollew_

Chase could kind of pick out her voice from the voices on the CD. She was pretty good.

"Better than I thought," Chase remarked at the end of the song, when she stopped the CD.

"Most people say that."

A few words stuck in his head.

_Troubles there are few_

_Someday, we'll go too_

"Just out of curiosity, how long have you been sitting here?"

"He's been here all day," House commented. He had snuck into the room without being noticed. "Looks like Sleeping Beauty's finally woke up, just in time to go back to sleep."

"Why, House, I didn't know you cared," Claire said sarcastically.

"Oh, poor, mislead duckling. She thinks I care. Just wanted to annoy your attacker some more. If you think I'm an ass, wait 'til you see of this guy."

"Cuddy sent you here to beg some more?"

"Nope, guy's going to get a new liver tomorrow morning."

"Good for him," Chase added, definitely like he could care less.

"Apparently, you were hit by a drunk in denial. His liver's trashed. You were his closest match." Claire blinked at him. "Luckily, when Cuddy came and begged, Chase put up one hell of a fight. And now, I'm going back to my office."

House left the room.

"You probably should get some sleep," Chase told her.

"So should you!" she added, half laughing.

"We'll see…"

Claire smiled and shut her eyes, to go to sleep. Within a few minutes, she was asleep. Chase was tired as well. And now, he was really wishing that there was a Solla Sollew. A place with no troubles…how good that sounded. And with that, he drifted back to sleep.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

So…well, Seussical was the fall musical that I was in. Unfortunately, I was only in the chorus, so I didn't not get to sing that part. For those of you who know about Seussical, Claire was JoJo. And yes, JoJo was the little who…who was a boy. Well, in our production, JoJo was a girl, and I prefer it that way. Please review, House will proceed to call flames a series of names until they cry. Hope you enjoyed it!


	4. Beautiful Girl

When things in the world finally seem to be going right, they turn horribly wrong and will affect House's team immensely. Sequel to _New Tricks_.

_Disclaimer: I do not own House, MD. If I did, do you think that Tritter would be around, Cameron and Chase would have had that interesting moment, that Claire would be made up, or that I would be writing here? And I do not own any of the song titles used in this story as a title or chapter titles._

Thanks for the reviews!

**Mild language! **But it's in the usual House context. Also, major sarcasm alert.

**One Sweet Day**

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Chapter 4 – Beautiful Girl**

_Setting: In the morning, in the hallways of Princeton Plainsborough, with Cameron and Foreman as they go to check on Chase…_

"How'd you think he's doing?" Foreman asked Cameron.

"Depends on how she's doing."

"After one date, you would think he wouldn't be that attached."

"Love makes you do crazy things."

"Whoa, who said anything about love?"

Cameron rolled her eyes.

"You didn't stay and watch over your baby sister over the night? Shame. Looks like Chase is the only one who gets a gold star!" House said sarcastically, coming out of his office.

"Did you spend the night here?" Foreman said, a little shocked.

"How'd you figure it out?"

"If you'd gone home, it would still be another hour until you got here."

"Oh…you…"

"How's he doing?" Cameron jumped in.

"He hits your sister and you care about him?" She looked at him, not amused. "Doing fine for being the bastard that he is."

Foreman snorted. "That's coming from you?"

"If you think I'm an ass, you should have been here last night! Only time he had any humanity is when I forced him to sit outside her room-"

"You did what?"

"Oh, come on! Guy needed to see his handiwork in action. Maybe next time I'll take him on a field trip to the grave of another person that he killed."

"He killed someone drunk driving?!"

"No, but he will if he doesn't quit."

"You're an ass."

"So is he!" House had stopped walking. He headed for John's room.

**With House…**

"If it ain't my resident torturer," John remarked as House came in.

"Morning, Lieutenant Asshole! Sleep well?" he replied sarcastically.

"You actually get away with talking to patients like that?"

"Yep. It's amazing what a cane can do for you. Maybe I should get you one!"

"Don't think a cane suits my style."

"It's also amazing what you can get away with when you can cure people no one else can."

"Really?"

"Yep. One of my nicknames is God. It also helps when the administrator has a crush on you."

"Really?"

"I happen to know one of the side effects of your meds is not being gullible, so that must be hereditary."

House looked at the chart about the surgery.

"Well, looks like I'm no longer your doctor. See you the next time you run into someone, Lieutenant."

John began to protest, but House was already gone.

**With Foreman & Cameron…**

The two stood at the nurses' station for a moment, coffee in hand.

"At least we don't have to treat him anymore," Foreman commented, handing John's file back to the nurse.

Cameron & Foreman headed for Claire's room. They stopped outside of it. House snuck up behind them.

"You two look like you've seen a ghost. Was it Patrick Dempsey?"

"She's…awake," Cameron said in awe, ignoring what House said.

"Woke up last night. It was really a sweet moment with her and Chase, that is if sweet moments are the ones that make you want to throw up."

"Ass," Foreman commented under his breath.

Chase was saying something to Claire that made her smile and laugh a little. Cameron went in the room. She handed Chase a coffee. He said something to Claire, got up and left the room. He stood by Foreman and House.

"Morning."

Foreman looked at him for a minute.

"How much sleep did you get or how much coffee have you had?"

"What?"

"Someone who was with their girlfriend all night while she was in the hospital can't be that happy and awake without having had a normal amount of sleep or a gallon of coffee."

House smirked. "Oh snap! Wait, give Chase a minute to think of something. These Brits have so much trouble with 'Hood Talk'."

Chase ignored him.

"And you seem quite…attached," Foreman continued.

"You know, I'm going to let your mind imagine why I'm so 'happy'."

"Let me guess. After your date with her, you two proceeded back to your apartment, had one hell of a good time. She went home early morning. Then, when she woke up, you two had a lovely chat about it," House guessed.

"Why is it you've always got sex on the brain? Foreman, is that some kind of disorder or something?"

Foreman smirked. "With House it could be."

Cameron and Claire were talking and seemed to be getting along fairly well.

**Later that day…**

"House," Cuddy said, coming into House's office, "We need to talk."

"I will not have sex with you again! It was torture the first time, now it's just cruel."

Cameron rolled her eyes. Foreman smirked and laughed a little.

"Your patient's liver is becoming trashed again."

"We gave him the new liver. It can't be."

"Yet it is. Go check on him."

Cuddy left. House blinked for a moment.

"Field trip time. Cameron, you go check on the love birds. Foreman, you come with me."

**With Chase, Claire, & Cameron…**

Cameron came in to the room. A nurse was monitoring her vitals for a few minutes, and another was changing the bag.

"How's everything?" Cameron asked.

"Looks good," the first nurse commented.

Cameron noticed Chase holding Claire's hand.

"How do you feel?" Cameron looked at Claire.

"Aside from the occasional searing pain," Claire started sarcastically, then becoming serious, "pretty good."

Cameron smiled. Chase looked at her, smiling as well. The monitor began to beep. Claire appeared to have difficulty breathing. Chase jumped up. Cameron raced to diagnose it. The nurses attempted to help, but sort of got in the way of the immunologist.

"Collapsed lung," Cameron said after a few minutes. She quickly fixed the problem.

Claire's monitor returned to normal with in about 10 seconds. Chase looked at her, breathing in slowly.

**With House & Foreman…**

Foreman collected some more samples.

"What did you do? Sneak some alcohol in to celebrate getting a new liver?"

"No." John had lost his sarcasm with the new circumstances.

"Come on House," Foreman told his boss, getting up.

"What for?"

"We're testing these samples."

"Do I have to?" Foreman looked at him, not amused. "Alright."

**In the lab…**

Foreman tested the samples. Cameron came in.

"Her lung collapsed."

"You fix it?" House asked, concerned.

"Yeah. Why do you care?"

"Because I'm human!" Silence. " 'Cause if she dies, then I've got a dead intesivist and an emotionally damaged one."

"He hasn't been drinking, yet his liver continues to be trashed."

"What's going on with him?" House asked, looking at the results.

**With Chase…**

Amazingly, Chase had been able to make himself leave Claire's side. Unfortunately, it was for the sake of talking to John. He entered the room.

"What, you another one of my doctors too?" John asked, slightly amazed.

"I would be, but I removed myself from your case before we started."

John looked confused.

"You do know that the woman you hit is one of House's employees?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Not only do I work with her, but she's my girlfriend." Chase had came right out and said it.

"Your point is?"

"Maybe if you stopped being an ass for a few minutes you'd realize what the hell my point is!"

John stared at him, not afraid of the yelling Australian.

"Whether Claire lives…or dies, I will see you put behind bars."

With that, Chase left the room and went back to Claire's. Once again, she was out. Her condition would between stable and unstable.

_God, even when she could be dying, she still looks beautiful._

How Chase came upon this revelation, no one knows. Against all "manly" instinct and "code", tears started to well up. He brushed them away.

"Don't you dare leave me," he said quietly.

_She's so scared  
So very frightened  
Anything could happen  
Right here tonight  
Beautiful girl_

_Stay with me_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Cornelia Claire: sniff I will not cry…bursts into tears It's so sad and sweet!

Sun (friend): Actually, it's not sad.

Kate (friend): It's more so a little sweet and kind of heart wrenching.

C: looks at them You two have no hearts! continues crying

S: Anyway, since Cornelia Claire can't type at the moment, we'll say it for her.

K: Please review.

S: House will proceed to call flames a series of names until they break down in tears.

C: No hearts, I tell you!


	5. In Loving Memory

When things in the world finally seem to be going right, they turn horribly wrong and will affect House's team immensely. Sequel to _New Tricks_.

_Disclaimer: I do not own House, MD. If I did, do you think that Tritter would be around, Cameron and Chase would have had that interesting moment, that Claire would be made up, or that I would be writing here? And I do not own any of the song titles used in this story as a title or chapter titles._

Thanks for the reviews!

Yay! Finals are over and the new episode has inspired me! Just a warning – this one may have a few extra chapters compared to New Tricks. Soon, you will be seeing a prequel to New Tricks popping up. I finally know how it all works! And this is one of my favorite songs that is super sad, so…yep, that's it.

**One Sweet Day**

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Chapter 5 – In Loving Memory**

_Setting: The next day. Chase had left for a bit after waking up to go get coffee from the cafeteria. He's heading back for the elevator._

Chase went towards the elevator, coffee in hand. He really needed it. It seemed close enough to a soap opera, but apparently real life was more dramatic and sometimes sucked more than you would think. The elevator opened. He got in.

**A few hours later…**

Cameron would come in periodically to check on Claire. Chase continued to sit there. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Cuddy. She came into the room. Two men followed her.

"Dr. Chase, may I speak with you?" she asked him.

Chase stepped out of the room. The two men stayed in the room.

"How is she?" Cuddy asked. Chase shrugged a little.

"They still don't know why her lung collapsed. Who are they?"

"Her brothers."

There was silence.

"Her parents are on vacation. Her brothers, Dylan and Derek, came home from a trip about half an hour ago. They found the message we had left and came."

Chase stood there, brushing his hair back slightly. He looked in the room. One of the brothers, who had very dark brown, almost black, shaggy hair, had took one of the chairs from against the wall and was sitting on the opposite side of where Chase had been. The second, who had light brownish hair, had taken another chair and was sitting next to the first.

"Chase?" Cuddy asked after a minute.

"What?" he replied, turning around.

"Are you okay?" Cuddy inquired. It had seemed like he had been loosing it for a while now.

"I'm fine," he answered after a moment. Chase went back into the room, leaving Cuddy in the hallway.

**With House, Cameron, and Foreman…**

The three sat in the office wordlessly. Cuddy opened the door and came in.

"Is he alright?" she asked.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Cameron shot back, somewhat hostile.

"I did," Cuddy told her after a minute, slightly shocked at the hostility. "He claims he's alright, but I don't think he is."

"Why were you down there?" House asked, suddenly interested.

There was a pause.

"Her brothers showed up."

Silence consumed the office.

"Does Chase know?" Foreman asked.

Cuddy nodded.

"Well, this'll make things more interesting," House remarked randomly, staring off at random items.

"You know what's wrong with the patient?" she requested from House.

"No lab results yet," House said, "So for now, the Lieutenant gets more lovely chats with me!"

Cuddy rolled her eyes and left.

"What's with this new found hostility?" House asked Cameron.

"She acts as if this guy has done nothing wrong!"

"Still, you generally wouldn't respond with hostility," Foreman added.

"He needs a new liver, and she actually has the nerve to ask Chase for part of hers!"

Silence ensued again.

"You know, mood swing girl's got a point."

Cameron rolled her eyes.

"What is with girls doing that today?" House asked.

**With Chase…**

Chase let the door shut quietly behind him. The brothers, Derek and Dylan, looked at up. He continued to his chair. The air was wordless and silent, except for the occasional sound of the vital monitor.

"You're Claire's brothers?" Chase broke the silence after about ten minutes.

The dark haired one nodded. Silence took over again.

"I'm sorry, but we don't know you," the lighter haired one apologized to Chase.

"Dr. Robert Chase," he replied.

"Do you work with Claire?" the first asked. Chase nodded.

"We…went out last night," he explained after a few minutes of them staring at him questioningly.

"Oh," one remarked.

Quiet fell over them.

"I'm Derek," the lighter haired one told Chase.

"Dylan," the darker haired one seconded after being prodded in the ribs.

**In House's office…**

"Results came in," Foreman said, walking in the room.

All three looked over them.

"Everything's…negative," Cameron added in an incredulous tone.

"So, what does our drunk have?" House asked, obviously not hiding his confusion.

**In Claire's room…**

Hours after their introductions, Dylan smirked for a moment. Chase and Derek looked at him.

"Still there," he remarked.

"What?" Derek asked, confused.

"Scar." Dylan indicated towards her wrist. Derek nodded and began to smirk as well. Chase looked at both of them, still in the dark.

"When we were 15," Dylan began to explain, "there was this…sort of an after party, after the homecoming football game. Our parents would only let Derek go since he was 18. So, they picked us up and took us home…"

"They went straight up to their rooms, like the good little teenagers our parents thought they were…"

"Well, about ten minutes later, I crawled out the window to the backyard, threw a few rocks at her window, and persuaded her to come."

"Imagine my surprise as I'm at this party and I see my little twin siblings mingling with everyone."

"He scolded us, yelled, but we were able to make him let us stay. We had to walk home afterwards."

"So, when we got to our block, the two of them take off through our next door neighbor's backyard to get to ours and sneak through the window."

"Well, their dog was in the backyard and we didn't know it. The dog chased us, and we ran for the fence. We began to climb the fence; I hoped over and landed, but Claire snagged her wrist on the fence and it made this huge cut."

"I got in the house, talked with our parents, when we heard a noise in the backyard."

"So, we got caught, scolded-"

"But not grounded because Dylan and Claire so wonderfully pointed out how unfair it was that they couldn't go."

"And Claire got that scar on her wrist."

Chase smirked at the idea of Claire ever doing that. He liked hearing about her past, especially the "criminal" portion.

"She actually did that?" he asked them.

Dylan laughed a little and smiled.

"Yep; you'd never know it after she went to med school."

"What do you mean?"

"She was the perfect student; never went to any parties, didn't drink until she was twenty-one, always studied, aced every term paper and test. During med school, she had no life."

"Even after they turned twenty-one, she still rarely drank."

"Are…either of you doctors?"

They both shook their heads.

"That was always Claire's thing. I was into sports," Dylan told him.

"I was the resident Drama freak…"

"And Claire was the little science girl…more like the genius."

"Perfect grades, every semester of high school."

Chase nodded, smiling at her. Now that he could see.

For the next hour or so, Chase heard more stories about Claire as a child, teenager, in med school; anything that dealt with her history. Cameron came in to check on her; Chase introduced her. The three continued to talk. But, without any warning, the vital monitor began to beep wildly. Chase, Derek, and Dylan all jumped to their feet.

"What's happening?" Dylan asked, "A heart attack?"

"No," Cameron said, looking at the machine, "she can't breathe."

"It's impossible for another collapsed lung," Chase told Cameron.

"We need to intubate," Cameron told him after a few minutes.

A few nurses that had come in pulled the bed out. Cameron performed the medical procedure, and within minutes, Claire was breathing. Dylan and Derek looked at her, a look of relief on their faces; Chase, on the other hand, felt as if his world was, once again, crashing down.

**In the cafeteria…**

Wilson stood in line, waiting to pay for his food. Lo and behold, the minute he paid and began to go for a table, in came House, who took some food off the tray.

"That light hasn't burnt out yet?" Wilson asked sarcastically.

"Not as often as the impure thoughts one."

"How's the drunk? Cuddy release him yet?" he changed the topic.

"Apparently, he's been having hospital room parties behind everyone's backs."

Wilson gave House a blank stare.

"Liver's trashed again."

Wilson looked a little surprised.

"How is she?"

"Lung collapsed."

He looked shocked.

"How's Chase taking it?"

House lost his sarcasm for a moment. "Not too well."

Cameron came into the cafeteria and headed towards Wilson and House.

"We had to intubate."

"For a collapsed lung?" House asked incredulously. "Since when does that help?"

"We don't know why, but her throat just…"

"Just what?"

"It didn't really close up; there was a bit of blood, and it almost looked like there was a –"

"Puncture?" House asked, an idea coming to mind.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Get Foreman, meet me in my office."

House had everything figured out, Claire & John both.

**House's office…**

Foreman sat with Cameron, waiting for their answers.

"What could cause a perfectly healthy young woman to have a collapsed lung?" He asked, walking in.

"She was in a car accident!" Cameron cried.

"Yes, I'm aware of that! Why don't you take that into consideration as you think of the reasons?"

There was silence.

"I give up," Foreman stated.

Cameron looked at House. He rolled his eyes.

"Normally, I'd go into some random metaphor, but you two will just be too crabby and slow. She was in a car crash; what comes flying at you after your car gets hit?"

"Glass?" Foreman suggested.

Cameron realized what House was suggesting.

"Are you suggesting that there are shards of glass inside her body, which punctured her airway and lung?"

"No!" House remarked sarcastically. "I never suggest."

"How can we prove or disprove this theory?" Foreman asked.

"Glass isn't metal, so it won't show up on the MRI, lucky for her; have them do surgery to look for shards in her neck and chest."

Foreman and Cameron blinked, as if that were too easy, and then began to leave the room.

"What, you don't want to know what's wrong with our drunk?"

"You know that too?" Cameron retorted.

"I know everything!"

This earned him some non-appreciative glares.

"To make this short and sweet so you can go fix them both up, here's why his liver's trashed again: when you suffer from lack of sleep, your body releases chemicals it normally wouldn't. Insomnia causes even larger amounts of these chemicals; one of which, is found in alcohol, causing the same effects as going out and buying a six-pack of beer and downing it all within an hour or two. Give him some sleep meds and he'll be back to crashing into people's cars in no time…or free to go to jail for a good 10 or more years."

**Later that evening, in the observation room, looking in on Claire's surgery…**

Chase stood, watching as they proceeded with the surgery to look for glass shards. This theory was incredulous; did House actually think that would be the cause? Derek and Dylan waited outside; Cameron and Foreman were working on John; House was probably antagonizing Cuddy or playing with his ball or something. He brushed some of his hair back, trying to stay awake. He hadn't been home in a day or two, nor had a cup of coffee since that morning; however he stayed awake was a miracle. Chase still attempted to watch intently, making sure that nothing happened to her. He repeatedly prayed she would be alright, occasionally reading an excerpt from his bible to find hope or calm himself down.

_I carry the things that remind me of you_

_In loving memory of the one that was so true_

_You were as kind as you could be_

_And even though you're gone, you still mean the world to me_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I based the way the character Dylan looks off of Garrett Hedlund (Murtagh in Eragon) and the way the character Derek looks off of Ian Somerhalder (Boone on Lost). If you intend to look for images of them on Google Images or something similar, I highly suggest searching "Eragon" Murtagh or "Lost" Boone, unless you truly want to sift through a whole bunch of pictures of Garrett from anything but Eragon and I seriously do not recommend searching Ian's name for fear of what will come up. (Seriously, you never know what might come up because of previous projects he's been in) Trust me; just search what I told you to. Those do not require sifting through images (alright, slightly on the Murtagh one) and you get somewhat of an idea of what you'll be seeing (except for a few Ian images). That has got to be one of my longest chapters yet. Once again, super favorite song! I actually debated with myself about what section of lyrics to use for this chapter; and yes, no one dies, so the title is slightly misleading. I know exactly how I shall finish this off now (song wise). Please review, House will proceed to call flames a series of names until they break down in tears.


	6. God's Top Ten

When things in the world finally seem to be going right, they turn horribly wrong and will affect House's team immensely. Sequel to _New Tricks_.

_Disclaimer: I do not own House, MD. If I did, do you think that Tritter would be around, Cameron and Chase would have had that interesting moment, that Claire would be made up, or that I would be writing here? And I do not own any of the song titles used in this story as a title or chapter titles._

Here's another favorite song of mine; hope you guys like all of my favorites as much as I do! (My faves are pretty much any song that I use for a title) And now, I know when this entire thing of stories occurs; it's after the April 10th episode (unfortunately, I didn't see all of it, but I did see the section dealing with Cameron and Chase at the end). Since I didn't see it, please excuse any issues in the prequel to New Tricks, seeing as how all I know is that Cameron broke it off for good.

**One Sweet Day**

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Chapter 6 – God's Top Ten**

_Setting: late that evening, in Claire's room; Derek and Dylan are asleep on the far side of the room; Chase is still awake, worrying, sitting next to Claire._

As tired as Chase was earlier, now that the surgery was over, he couldn't even force himself to fall asleep. Sure enough, they had found shards of glass, and a fair amount of others, also dangerously close to vital organs. Claire was still passed out, partly from the anesthesia this time. Chase mentally groaned, partly to scold himself.

_You have to get some sleep; you haven't slept in days. If something were…went wrong, you'd hear that stupid monitor the minute it started beeping again._

He tried to sleep again, but it still wasn't working. Irritated, Chase pulled his bible out of his bag and began to read. Ironically, he opened it to Job; he mused slightly about the irony. Finally, his eyelids started to feel heavy; within mere moments, he was asleep.

**With House, in his office…**

House balanced his ball in the crook of his cane, threw it against the wall, caught it in the same place, and continued the routine. Wilson came in.

"How is she?"

"Out of surgery; looks like she'll be back in a few days, doing my bidding again."

Cameron and Foreman came in, but remained quiet as Foreman sat down in the chair and Cameron leaned against a bookcase. Wilson had a slightly unsure look on his face.

"I…wouldn't be so sure about that…"

Everyone watched him, confused.

"What are you talking about?" Cameron asked.

"What do you mean?" House seconded.

"She isn't immunosuppresed, so why wouldn't she?" Foreman continued.

"Actually…" Wilson answered guiltily.

House looked at him sternly. "What do you know?"

Foreman looked at House. "He didn't even meet her until her first day here. How would he know anything?"

"That…wasn't the first time I met her…" Wilson continued guiltily.

"What are you trying to say Wilson?" Cameron demanded.

Wilson decided to fess up. "She's immunosuppresed."

"How?" Foreman asked. "We didn't put her on any drugs that cause it."

Wilson looked even guiltier.

"Tell us everything," House demanded.

"I met her first when she was eighteen. She had been diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. We tried Interferon Therapy, Bone Marrow Transplant; none of it worked. So, about a year ago, we started her on chemotherapy. About a month ago, she was declared in complete remission; but she's still immunocompromised."

Everyone sat silent, until House made a comment. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"It would have made you view her differently. When Cuddy had you looking at the files for the applicants and you showed me three of them, I knew if I made it seem like I recognized her, you wouldn't give her a fair chance; and I didn't think it was relevant…"

"You didn't think it was relevant?" House asked incredulously. "She's in the hospital and might die and you don't think it's relevant?!"

"What, it wasn't in her file?" Wilson inquired curiously.

Foreman and Cameron immediately flipped through her file; House took Cameron's when she found the page.

"Damn it," House cursed. "How could you people not see this?"

At that, House took off to the door.

"Where are you going?" Foreman requested.

"Someone's got to tell Chase." House walked out.

Cameron, Foreman, and Wilson watched each other.

**In Claire's room…**

House opened the door, only to find all three men sleeping; House reached into his pocket and pulled out a mini wad of paper. He launched it at Chase's head and made direct contact. Chase's sleeping form flinched a little, but remained asleep. House launched two more; Chase lifted his head and spotted House, who motioned for him to follow to outside the door. Wearily, Chase got up and followed House.

"What do you want?" he asked, leaning against the door.

House made a decision, one which he normally would never think about; but since this was Chase and he'd have to work with him, he'd make an exception. "Claire…won't be back to work for a while."

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?"

"Wilson let us on to some important information."

"House, is there a point to this? I've barely slept in the past two days."

"Claire had Chronic Myeloid Leukemia."

Chase stared at House and looked at Claire.

"She was diagnosed at eighteen. They tried interferon and bone marrow transplant. About a year ago, she started chemo; was declared complete remission a month ago. She'll still be immunocompromised, and after the surgery, even more susceptible to infection. Claire will have to stay home for a few days, avoid more infection than staying in the hospital once she's declared healthy."

House could tell the Chase's eyes were starting to well up.

"You didn't know, did you?"

Chase shook his head. "Her brothers didn't let on, either."

Silence overtook the conversation.

"She'll…she'll be alright," House attempted to comfort him.

Chase nodded again. House turned to walk away, but he heard something.

"Thank you."

He looked back at Chase and nodded. "No problem."

House proceeded back to his office, while Chase returned to the room, where he sat in the chair; for a moment, he watched Claire. It was hard to believe she was a cancer victim; Chase was reminded of something as he watched her intently: his father. Rowan Chase had died of Stage IV Lung Cancer. Chase fought back tears. He was about to say something, but was beat to it.

"What's wrong?" Dylan asked, sitting up and trying to rid the sleep from his eyes.

Chase sat quiet for a moment. "I didn't know she'd had cancer."

Dylan nodded. "After she went into remission, Claire convinced us all it was a part of the past and to let it go."

Chase smiled slightly for a moment.

"Don't feel bad; she didn't tell you because…she wanted to put it behind her and move on."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"A year or two ago…my dad…he died of lung cancer."

"I'm sorry, man."

**With Cameron and Foreman…**

Foreman and Cameron sat in silence in the room.

"It's hard to believe…" Cameron said quietly.

"She didn't even show the signs of being on chemo…no hair loss, fatigue…" Foreman commented.

"She got lucky," House said as he came into the room. "I was hoping you wouldn't say no mouth sores, because that would imply you seduced Chase's girlfriend."

Cameron stiffened slightly at the mention of that last word.

"How can you make a comment like that when she could be dying?" Foreman shook his head.

"Because I know how to keep the mood light."

"Ass," Foreman said under his breath.

"I'm going to go talk to the Lieutenant."

Cameron stared in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Figure he should know what kind of havoc he caused."

House departed again.

**In John's Room…**

John lay asleep in his bed when House entered the room; he banged his cane on the end of the bed. John awoke with a start.

"Congratulations!" House said in a fake, cheery voice.

"For what?" he asked tiredly.

"You're the patient who's caused the most mayhem among my team this month. Want to know what you won?"

"No."

"It's a trip to jail for trying to kill my doctor! Isn't that thrilling?" Silence. "Or maybe you're the one who finds going to court more appealing."

"Why would I be going to court?"

"You may have gone through Alcoholics Anonymous, but you were still drunk. Don't think they're going to let you get off for that."

John sat quiet, for once, with no smart remark. House shifted a little.

"Well, hope you enjoy your stay in jail," House added sarcastically, heading out the door.

**In Claire's room, very, very late at night…**

Once again, Chase was unable to sleep; literally, it was a curse. He couldn't escape the horrible dreams where he would see Claire in his father's position, dying of cancer, and other such dreams. Dylan and Derek had completely been out for at least an hour now. Chase leaned forward in his chair, and lightly put his hand over Claire's.

"Hey…" he began, feeling slightly awkward, "…well…I kind of found out…about the whole…leukemia thing…" The room was silent. "…it doesn't really matter to me…I would tell you right now, but I'd probably have to repeat myself once you woke up…I'll always love you."

He kissed her lightly on the cheek.

_I don't need to tell you_

_What you already know_

_He's on God's top ten_

_Where heaven never ends_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

So, here's chapter six; hope you enjoy it. Please review; House will precede flamers a series of names until they break down crying. : )


	7. Chemicals React

When things in the world finally seem to be going right, they turn horribly wrong and will affect House's team immensely. Sequel to _New Tricks_.

_Disclaimer: I do not own House, MD. If I did, do you think that Tritter would be around, Cameron and Chase would have had that interesting moment, that Claire would be made up, or that I would be writing here? And I do not own any of the song titles used in this story as a title or chapter titles._

Well, here I am to finish off this story and begin another soon after. Over the summer, I worked out the plot for at least the next two stories and the ending for this one. I think this song's a little ironic for doctors, don't you? I hope that most of you have found the ficlet,Prologue, that pretty much introduces the idea of my little plot. Anyhow, all of you probably want the next chapter now, don't you?

**One Sweet Day**

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Chapter 7 – Chemicals React**

Claire's room was silent, except for the sound of the monitor's incessant beeping. House watched through the window, popping a few pills; he didn't feel like going home tonight…or morning, for that matter, seeing as how it was 3 A.M. He rarely felt this tired, but was slowly drifting off as he watched the still room. With his usual gimp, he returned to his office for a nap in his chair. It remained quiet and motionless.

An hour and a half later, someone began to stir. Claire blinked rapidly, adjusting to the light of the world again, and then took a glance around the room. Derek's head lolled to one side as he slept; Dylan's head dropped back while he was sleeping soundly; and then, there was Chase, with his head leaning against his shoulder. His arm was stretched out, lightly holding Claire's in its grip. She tried to smile at his sleeping form; briefly, her attention turned to the tube that went down her throat, but it didn't matter all too much since it helped her breath. Things remained calm and quiet, while Claire drifted off to a light sleep.

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"What do you mean it's not required in a job application?" House asked irritably.

Cuddy picked up a file and looked at him. "House, when someone's applying for a fellowship spot, you don't need to know their medical history unless it's diabetes or something that can cause them problems on the job; it's only required when you're in the military and in the hospital."

"You don't think that immunosuppresion is relevant when it comes to a medical position?"

"If she applied for the job and put herself at risk, then that was her choice, _not_ yours." Cuddy began to walk to her office from the main nurses' station on the first floor.

A loud beeping rang through the air. House looked at his beeper and hobbled to the elevator.

"What?" he questioned, entering his office.

Cameron hung up the phone. "We can extubate now."

"You couldn't do that without telling me first?" House remarked, sitting down.

Cameron rolled her eyes while Foreman smirked a little.

"Remind me why I came back again?" Foreman retorted.

"Because you missed my cunning wit and charm."

"Or because they offered you a load of benefits and your own position and fellowship in the future," Cameron answered truthfully.

"Are you waiting for approval or something? Go on; get her unhooked from the machines."

Cameron and Foreman walked out as House popped another pair of pills.

۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰

"And now, you can talk again," Foreman remarked, taking the tube from Cameron.

Dylan handed Claire a glass of water; she sipped some quietly.

"You're ready to go home in a few hours," Cameron told her.

"Thank you," she said meekly.

"No problem," Cameron smiled.

Cameron and Foreman left the room. Dylan and Derek stood up.

"We'll run over to your apartment, get you some clothes," Derek hugged her.

"Thanks."

"See you soon," Dylan did the same.

Chase and Claire were left alone in the room, with him sitting in his usual chair. There was silence, until a feeble voice broke it.

"I'm so sorry."

Chase looked at her. "For what?"

"I should have told you…about the leukemia…" Claire sighed. "…it's just…for seven years…it ran my life…"

"Don't blame yourself…my dad had Stage IV Lung cancer…died from it."

"Oh…" Claire looked away. "…I should have said something…" she muttered the next part. "…I should have been more sensitive."

"Don't worry about it; you couldn't have known."

"Still…"

"It's all right Claire. Let it go." Chase smiled at her.

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"Careful, careful," Dylan cautioned as he and Chase helped Claire up.

Claire laughed a little. "I'll be okay, Dylan."

Chase smiled. An older woman and man came in; the man had a fading dark brown color to his hair and was tall, while the woman had blonde and gray hair and was about average height. The woman rushed to Claire, gathering her in her arms while Dylan and Chase stood back.

"Oh, Claire, you're okay!" she exclaimed.

"Mom," Claire winced a little, "a little too tight."

"Sorry honey." The woman backed away.

Claire hugged the man.

"We're sorry we're late, sweetheart," he said.

"It's fine Dad."

"I told you we should have brought our cell phones, Daniel!" the woman cried as he let go of Claire. "Leave it to your father to convince me nothing horrible would happen when we left."

"Nothing _usually_ does."

"Claire, I insist that you move back home from that apartment! I knew letting you get one was a mistake; this all could have been prevented…"

"Mom, really, it wouldn't have made a difference…" Claire interjected.

"Did you really think Claire staying home instead of in an apartment would have kept her safe?" Dylan concluded.

"Still, you should move home. It'll save you money and you'll be closer to your family!"

"Mom, I'll think about." Claire smiled.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," the man turned to Chase.

"Dr. Robert Chase."

"I'm Daniel Austen, and this is my wife, Candice…and you've met Derek, Dylan, and Claire," he shook his hand.

"So you're the one who took Claire out?" Candice asked innocently.

"Mom…" Claire whispered.

"Yes, I am," Chase smiled at the reaction.

"Thank you so much. Claire hasn't gone out since her high school prom, and she went with her best friend who was a guy…"

"Mom, please…"

"Oh, Claire…I guess that parents are always embarrassing." Candice smiled, slightly resembling Claire's. "Well, honey, at least come home for the next week."

Claire sighed. "Okay, Mom, I'll come home _at least_ for the week."

"Should we get you down to the car?" Daniel questioned.

"You guys go ahead; I'll be down in a while." Claire hugged her family as they left and went to the elevator; she looked at Chase.

"They're sweet."

"They're embarrassing…but aren't all families?" Chase smiled. "I think I'll stop by House's office before I leave." Claire turned and went to the doorway.

"Can I ask you one thing before you take off for the week?"

Claire turned around. "Sure; shoot."

"Did you really sneak out to a party when you were fifteen…and you got that scar on your wrist from jumping a fence?"

She laughed a little. "Derek and Dylan told you, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"I don't think they'll ever forget that."

"Come on; innocent Dr. Austen sneaking out to a party, hopping neighbors' fences, catching her wrist on a fence and getting a scar from it? How could anyone forget it?" Claire smiled and looked away. "Have a good week off. Hopefully House won't call you about a case." He kissed Claire lightly on the cheek.

"See you in a week." Claire leaned up a little, returning the favor, and left the ICU room.

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House sat, bouncing his ball up and down out of boredom. He heard the door open and he looked up to see Claire standing by the doorway.

"Looks like someone's better," he remarked, bouncing the ball up and down.

"I wanted to say thank you," Claire leaned against the door.

"For what?"

"For taking the time to figure out what was wrong with me…" House gave her an odd look. "I looked at the file…but, for figuring out what was wrong with me and with him."

"The guy who tried to hit you?"

"He deserved the same type of treatment as anyone else."

"So? He tried to hit you. I'd say that doesn't mean anything."

"Still, you cured him."

"Shouldn't have."

"But you did."

"Is there a point to this banter? It's not very witty."

"Typical."

"What?"

"You, your sarcasm, and the little box you try to fit everything into."

"You lost me when you started talking."

"You live in your own world. You make a mold for each person you meet. From what Chase told me, your molds are that Cameron's always overly caring…kind…won't break the rules. You think that Foreman follows the rules, but breaks them when necessary, and will become the next you, minus the sarcasm and gimp. You think that Chase is a kiss up who'll do anything to save his own ass. I don't know if you even have a mold for me, but it'll be just like theirs. You're shocked when someone says or does anything that's against that stereotype…and that's your downfall."

"Still lost."

"It's your box; you try to stuff everything in there when it's crying to be let out. You only see what you can prove and know, like your molds for everyone. You see the guy who hit me, you think drunk idiot who went for a drive. You don't give them a personality, a spirit, anything what so ever. You need to start seeing with your heart, not just your eyes and mind."

"So you're accusing me of being blind when I can see perfectly well?"

"House! You don't see people as people! You see them as objects without a life. Everyone has a personality! No one fits one of your damn molds! You need to see that everyone is a human being, not some emotionless ass like you." Silence overtook the room. "I'll see you in a week." Claire left the room.

House tapped his cane on the floor a little, deep in thought.

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"Claire, use the wheelchair," Derek told her.

"If you fall…" Dylan seconded.

"All right, all right! I'll use the wheelchair," Claire laughed a little and sat down slowly.

"Come on now, we've got to get you home," her mother said in the same happy, light tone as Claire. "We'll send your brothers and father to get some things."

Daniel took the handles of the wheelchair and began to push it slowly. Chase watched from up above as the family made their way to the doorway. Derek, Dylan, and Daniel were very much alike, as were Claire and Candice. Same smiles, laughter, personality; most of it seemed transferred over. A smile spread on Chase's face as he observed this.

_You make me feel out of my element_

_Like I'm drifting out to the sea_

_Like the tides pulling me in closer_

_Making it harder to breathe_

_We cannot deny how we feel inside_

_We cannot deny_

_Were you right, was I wrong_

_Were you weak, was I strong_

_Yeah, both of us broken caught in the moment_

_We lived and we loved_

_And we hurt and we joked yeah_

_But the planets all aligned when you looked into my eyes_

_And just like that the chemicals react_

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_Darling I never showed you_

_Assumed you'd always be there_

_I took your presence for granted_

_But I always cared_

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So has come the end of Number 2 in my little untitled series. House shall proceed to call flamers a series of names until they burst into tears. I shall work on getting the next story up soon. Until then.


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